Iran's Prediction: Hezbollah's Response to Israel Will Not Be Limited to Military Targets

The Islamic Republic's representation at the United Nations made a rare statement predicting that Hezbollah's response to Israel's attack on an area in Beirut, which resulted in the death of a senior commander of the group, would not be limited to military objectives and means. The news agency IRNA reported on Saturday, August 13, that the Iranian representation at the UN in New York addressed questions about Hezbollah's response to Israel's attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday night. This statement follows the killing of Fouad Shukr, a senior military advisor to Hezbollah, in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon that occurred last Tuesday, August 9. The Israeli army announced that the attack targeted a commander believed to be responsible for the deaths of 12 children and teenagers in a football field in the Golan Heights. The Iranian representation at the UN added that 'until today, informally,' Hezbollah and Israel had 'observed certain lines in their military attacks, meaning that operations were limited to border points, shallow incursions, and military targets.' However, the representation noted that Israel's attack 'on the suburbs of Beirut and targeting a residential building crossed this line. Our prediction is that Hezbollah will choose, in its response, firstly, broader and deeper targets, and secondly, it will not limit its response to military objectives and means.' These statements come at a time when the Islamic Republic has always claimed that Hezbollah and other groups it refers to as the 'Resistance Front' make independent decisions and act independently. This is one of the few statements regarding Hezbollah's reaction to an Israeli operation made by an official Iranian entity. The news comes as, following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a senior leader of the extremist group Hamas in Tehran, it is expected that the Islamic Republic will soon confront Israel alongside its proxy groups in the region. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in London, reported on Friday that Iran-backed militia groups in Syria, after being put on alert, have canceled leaves and ordered all their forces to return to their bases. The Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar and the Al-Arabiya network also reported that Hezbollah has raised the alert level of its forces and evacuated some of its bases in the Dahiyeh area, the southern suburbs of Beirut. According to these reports, Hezbollah has also advised residents of certain buildings near its bases to move to 'safer places.' Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, denied any connection between his group and the deaths of Israeli children in the Golan Heights, claiming that the aim of the attack on Majdal Shams was to create 'conflict and strife' between the Druze and Shiites in the Golan. He also questioned whether the Israelis think that after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau in Tehran, 'Iran will remain silent?' The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and other officials have spoken of taking revenge on Israel for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh. Meanwhile, as the issue of Mossad's infiltration into the intelligence-security organizations of the Islamic Republic is raised again, this matter is set to be discussed in the National Security Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly. According to IRNA, Ali Bagheri, the head of the Foreign Ministry, is scheduled to present a report on this issue in this commission this week. Several 'senior officials of the country' are also expected to attend this meeting, whose names and positions IRNA did not mention.